How to make your marketing message stick

Whether you’re planning a theater presentation in your trade show booth, need a video module that creates buzz on the show floor, want to maximize views on your product’s microsite, or manage a partner conference, the right message – written and spoken – can make the difference between exciting a reseller or losing a valued vendor.

For these branding opportunities and so many more you need an effective, meaningful, engaging story at the core of your offering. Which means you need the best specialized corporate writer to both produce and deliver your script to your audience.

The best bet for delivering your best message

Event marketers are challenged daily to create the best possible ways of getting their message out. Regardless of the event, audience, product, or occasion, the message has to be on point, effective, and memorable.

Marketing and event directors frequently settle for whatever writer they can find just to get the job done and the next script completed. Their own in-house people rarely write well, and even if they do these valuable employees can’t spare the creative time in their hectic calendars.

Fortunately, writers for hire are everywhere. Unfortunately, every writer believes they’re the best. And every marketing or events agency promises “great” writers, “experts” at creating the content you need for any occasion. So how do you decide who to partner with? In a large pool of writers, they can’t all be the best.

Rely on a specialist

The average “any-and-every project” writer typically churns out generic scripts for generic application. The brand, trade show, and speaker are afterthoughts and each script looks like any other. The story may go from A to Z but it has little chance of connecting with your viewer or being memorable in any way.

Only a dedicated corporate messaging expert understands how to create the best possible messaging content for you, based on years of experience and best practice methods for reaching your specific audience. Begin your vetting process with specialization; not every writer can write every script. Someone who specializes in advertising copy or legal brochures won’t be equally successful with live presentation messaging because they don’t live and work in the live presentation world. A television or film writer looking to make a few extra bucks in corporate scripting doesn’t understand or care about your brand or customer enough to create your ideal solutions message.

Work with the same corporate writer to create your scripting content and deliver the final marketing message to your audience

Ideally, your writer should also be the person that delivers the message rather than creating words in a vacuum for some unknown other to speak. If you ask only one question when choosing your content creation expert, it should be “How often are you hired and re-hired to speak the words that you write?” If the answer is less than “most of the time” you may want to seek out a different writer.

SOLiD: Living on the EDGE

Trade shows and corporate events are unique. They pose challenges only a professional immersed in the market daily can properly address. A trade show booth is not a quiet keynote room, a microsite is not a 30-second television ad, and a C-level interview is not the same as a man-on-the-street chat. Hire a single source specialist whenever you can.

Avoid the churn-n-burn chop shop

Most writer staff work on churn-n-burn cycles. They begin by asking generic questions of their client then crank out bland scripts that simply regurgitate buzz words heard in the meeting. Minor revisions follow, designed not to make the message stronger or connect with the desired audience more successfully but to appease the stakeholder, in hopes the client will sign off quickly. They bill for their time then head off to the next churn-n-burn project. The faster they finish, the more they bill. No personal stake, no long-term interest in message success.

Your writer should be personally invested in the outcome of your message. Trade shows, sales meetings, breakout sessions, VAR conferences, broadcasts, or webinars are vital tools in your marketing approach – your scripts for those events are some of the most powerful weapons in your marketing arsenal. Find the best writer to craft and hone those weapons and you’ll achieve solid ROI.

A truly great writer will deliver your message in a personal, memorable, understandable way. Their scripts will speak to your audience as people, not dollar signs, and treat your clients with respect and a true understanding of who they are and what they need. It takes a special skill that only a seasoned communicator can deliver. Your pro is out there – go find them.

SKM Creative is on trade show floors worldwide 30-60 times throughout the year. We’ve served the world’s top brands and multinationals for over 15 years, providing the best trade show and event spokespeople, creative content development, and on-camera services to savvy marketing managers in the US and around the world. Even if you use another agency’s services, call us anytime with questions or ideas – we’re here to help!